Gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly



April 22, 1969- w. FLOEHR GRAV ITY-PNEUMA'1'IG pxscmnen ASSEMBLY Sheet of 4 Filed Nov. 6, 1967 Walter L. Floe hf his Attorney April 22, 1969 w. 1.. FLOEHR GRAVITY-PNEUMATIC DISCHARGE assauam' Filed Nov. 6, 1967 Shet Inven tor=- Walter L. Floehr his Attorney A ril 22, 1969 5 Filed Nov. 6, 1967 w. 1.. FLOEH'R smvrry-rnnummc mscmnes ASSEMBLY Sheet 4 FIG. 11

Inventor:

Walter L. Floe hr his Attorney United States Patent Office 3,439,957 Patented Apr. 22, 1969 3,439,957 GRAVITY-PNEUMATIC DISCHARGE ASSEMBLY Walter L. Floehr, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Midland- Ross Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Nov. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 680,638 Int. Cl. B65g 53/40; B6111 7/102 US. Cl. 302-52 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A discharge assembly for a hopper of a covered railway hopper car combining a slide gate for gravity discharge with a pneumatic discharge device for comminuted lading, the device having a lading outlet and a metering air inlet on opposite sides of the hopper and both opening downwardly toward the discharge gate in the gates closed position for producing a cross flow of air that sweeps the gate clean of lading as a pneumatic discharge is completed.

Background of the invention While slide gates and pneumatic devices have been combined for permitting a railway car hopper to be discharged alternately by gravity and pneumatically, it heretofore has not been possible to use the gate as the floor of the hopper during pneumatic discharge without leaving an accumulation of lading on the gate at the end of the discharge. It is with this problem that the present invention is particularly concerned.

Summary 07 the invention Directed to a gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly for a hopper of a covered railway hopper car, the present invention has as its primary object the provision of an improved assembly combining a slide gate and a pneumatic discharge device for alternate gravity and pneumatic discharge, which permits a conventional gravity discharge using the slide gate, while enabling comminuted lading to be removed completely from the hopper by a pneumatic discharge.

The improved assembly uses the slide gate as the bot tom-closing floor of the hopper during pneumatic discharge and has a lading outlet and an air inlet of the pneumatic device mounted at opposite sides of the hopper and opening downwardly therewithin toward the slide gate for producing a cross flow of air that, toward the end of a pneumatic discharge, will sweep the gate clean of any remaining lading. Both the lading outlet and the air inlet are fully protected from the lading during a gravity discharge and in the preferred assembly the outlet chamber is accessible and substantially cleans itself upon opening of the gate.

The preferred air inlet has a plurality of laterally spaced openings and valving not only for metering but also for selectively directing the air inflow to the openings. As desired, the pneumatic discharge can be a vacuum discharge with vacuum applied to the outlet chamber and air drawn through the inlet by that vacuum or the inlet air can be introduced under positive pressure and so applied as to agitate or even fiuidize the lading in the adjoining part of the hopper for facilitating the discharge.

The foregoing and other objects and features of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure description FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the improved gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly of the present invention applied to a hopper of a railway hopper car;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the structure of FIGURE 1 with the centersill and part of the hopper removed;

FIGURE 3 is a front end elevational view of the structure of FIGURE 1 taken through the centersill;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along lines 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURES 7-10 are fragmentary horizontal sectional views taken along lines 7-7 of FIGURE 4, each showing one of the connections of the outlet openings of the air inlet to outside air obtainable by selective positioning of the valve member; and

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along lines 1111 of FIGURE 3.

Detailed description Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly of the present invention is designed for application to a bottom-opening hopper of a covered railway hopper car. To illustrate the invention, the improved assembly, designated as 1, has been applied to a downwardly opened hopper 2 that strad-- dles and is centered laterally on a centersill 3 of a covered railway hopper car (not otherwise shown).

The improved assembly v1 includes a gate frame 4 receiving and suitably fixed toand depending from and extending below the lower portion of the hopper 2 and slidably mounting therebelow a slide or discharge gate 5. Suitably mounted on slide rails 6 on opposite sides of the frame 4, the gate 5 is slidable thereon and extensions thereof on an outrigger or extension frame 7 fixed to and projecting or extending forwardly from the main frame 4, between positions to open and close a gravity discharge opening 8 disposed thereabove within the main frame. As opposed to a conventional slide gate assembly and for reasons hereinafter to be pointed out, both the slide rails 6 and the gate 5 in closed position preferably project or extend rearwardly beyond and are spaced below the rear wall 9 of the main frame proper, the rails for connection to and the gate for abutting against a downturned or depending flange 10 extending laterally across the frame below and rearwardly beyond the rear wall.

While drivable between open and closed positions in any suitable manner, the slide gate 5 conveniently is so driven by a cable drive 11 similar to that disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 600,477, filed Dec. 9, 1966. As in that application, the cable drive 11 includes a cable 12 anchored at opposite longitudinal extremities to the main frame 4 rearwardly of the latters front wall 13 and to the front end of the extension frame 8 and, between those extremities, is coiled or wound around pulleys 14 keyed to an operating shaft 15 extending laterally across the extension frame 8 forwardly of the main frame 4 and journaled in bushings 16 fixed to the front end portion of the gate 5. The illustrated shaft 15 is operable from either side of the car and lockable against turning with the gate in closed position by a suitable similarly operable lock 17.

The improved assembly 1 combines with the slide gate 5 for gravity discharge through the bottom opening 8, a pneumatic discharge device 18 comprised of a lading outlet 19 from which a mixture of air and a comminuted or finely divided lading suitable for pneumatic discharge, is discharged through a suitable discharge pipe (not shown) to a suitable collecting bin or collector (not shown) at the location at which the lading is unloaded. The device 18 also includes an air inlet 20 for introducing air into the hopper. The lading outlet 19 and air inlet 20 are mounted in spaced relation at and extend along opposite sides of the hopper and open downwardly at corresponding sides of the bottom opening 8 toward the slide gate 5 in the latters closed position in which its upper or top face or surface 21 forms a substantially horizontal floor of the hopper. As in the illustrated embodiment, the opposite sides of the hopper at which the lading outlet and air inlet are mounted most conveniently are the rear or back and the front, with the lading outlet mounted at the former on the main frame 4 and the air inlet mounted at the latter 0n the front cross sheet 22 of the hopper and the bottom flanges 23 of the centersill 3. Thus extending laterally and spaced longitudinally of the associated car, the preferred lading outlet 19 and air inlet 20 open into but are mounted outside of the hopper or the lower extension thereof formed by the main frame 4.

The preferred lading outlet 19 and air inlet 20 have fixed, open-ended tubular casings or conduits 24 and 25, respectively, which extend horizontally parallel to each other and the adjoining sides of the hopper 2 or frame 4 and open at opposite ends laterally beyond the frame onto opposite sides of the car. The casings 24 and 25 preferably are cylindrical at least over their end portions 26 and 27, respectively, and have axial or central, preferably straight-through or linear bores or passages 28 and 29, respectively, opening onto opposite ends of their respective casings through end ports 30 and 31 therein. Each of the ports 30 and 31 normally is closed by a cap 32 fitted onto and suitably releasably secured to its end of its casing.

The preferred stationary or fixed casing 25 of the inlet 20 is a cylindrical tube secured to and suspended by hangers 33 from the bottom flanges 23 of the centersill 3. The preferred casing 24 of the outlet 19, on the other hand, is fixed to and rigid with and forms part of the frame 4. Fitted to the rear end portion of the frame 4 with its end portions 26 outstanding or projecting outwardly beyond and partly radially or laterally overlapped by the frames side walls 34, the casing 24 conveniently uses the rear wall 9 of the frame as the front lateral boundary or inside wall of the intermediate or central portion of its bore 28 between the side walls and has, as the rear lateral boundary or outside wall of that portion, an internally concave cross wall 36 connecting and preferably formed as a concentric inward extension of the cylindrical end portions 26.

With its inside wall, the rear wall 9, generally flat and sloping forwardly and downwardly to its front lip or edge 37 bounding the rear end of the discharge opening 8 and its outside wall 36 internally cylindrically concave, the intermediate bore portion or chamber 35 in the casing 24 between the side walls 34 is generally semicylindrical. The inside and outside walls 9 and 36 of the chamber 35 are joined at the rear but separated or spaced at the front, the outside wall over the bottom of the chamber preferably sloping downwardly toward the front and terminating forwardly in a front edge 38 paralleling but spaced below the inside wall 9 and rearwardly of the latters lip 37. The previously described flange 10, against which the slide gate 5 abuts or is stopped in closed position, suitably is fixed to or rigid with and depends from the front edge 38 of the outside wall 36. The hopper floor-forming upper surface 21 of the gate 5, when the gate is closed, preferably is substantially at the level of the front edge 38 of the outside or cross wall 36 and, as previously mentioned, below that of the lip 37 at the front end of the inside or rear wall 9. Consequently, when the gate is open, the lateral or circumferential spacing between the front end 38 of the outside wall 36 and the overlying part of the inside wall 9, forms in a side of the casing 24, over substantially the length of the chamber 35 and width of the discharge opening 8, a laterally elongated slot or opening 39 opening from the bottom portion of the chamber forwardly into the frame 4 and, when the gate is closed, a narrower but correspondingly elongated inlet port 40 for the chamber between the lip 37 at the front of the wall 9 and the gates upper surface 21.

Disposed or positioned above the level of the frame 4, the casing 25 of the air inlet 20 has in its side facing or toward the front sheet or wall 22 of the hopper 2, a plurality of axially spaced, preferably circumferentially elongated radial slots 41, each covered or enclosed by an outer end fixed to the casing of a duct 42 leading rearwardly from the casing through the front wall of and into the hopper. Closed except at its ends and flared vertically toward and sloping rearwardly from the casing 25, each duct 42 is generally funnel-shaped and, within the hopper, has an upper or top wall 43 which slopes downwardly and in that direction progressively diverges inwardly from the hoppers front wall 22. Conveniently having an individual bottom wall 44 only to the front wall 22 of the hopper and thereafter using the adjoining part of the front wall as its bottom, each duct within the hopper has a lower or outlet portion or leg 45 which, at substantially the downward slope of the hoppers front wall 22, preferably projects or extends downwardly into the front portion of the frame 4 and opens thereinto rearwardly of and immediately adjacent the frames front wall 13.

To restrict the length of the discharge opening 8 to suit the particular installation for which it was designed, the illustrated frame presents to lading, inside of its front wall 13, a bafile plate 46 which extends across the frame and slopes downwardly and rearwardly from the lower extremity of the hopper to its own lower extremity at the front end of the discharge opening 8, where it preferably has sliding contact at all times with the upper surface 21 of the gate. In the illustrated assembly it is thus onto the baflie plate 46 in the frame 4, rather than the frames front Wall 13, that the outlet legs 45 of the ducts 42 open. The ducts preferably maintaining the axial or lateral spacing of their respective slots 41 in the casing 25, they, in the bottom openings 47 of their outlet legs 45, provide the air inlet 20 with a plurality of downwardly directed, oblique outlet ports so laterally spaced as each to cover a portion and together to span or cover the width of both the baffle plate 46 and the underlying slide gate 5.

Whether it be ambient air at atmospheric pressure drawn in by a vacuum applied to the outlet casing 24 or air at positive or super-atmospheric pressure supplied from a suitable source (not shown), air for a pneumatic discharge will be let in by or enter through the inlet casing 25 only when one or each of its inlet ports 31 is uncapped and open to ambient air or one port is uncapped and connected to the pressure source. At that time provision is made for selectively Opening the outlet ports 47 for determining the portion or portions of the hopper 2 or frame 4 and the comminuted lading therein subjected to the air and also for metering or regulating the flow of air through any of those ports. As its selecting and regulating means, the air inlet preferably has a combined slide and rotary valve member 48 in the form of an inner cylindrical tube or sleeve concentric with and fitting inside and both axially slidable or shiftable and rotatable in the casing 25.

As opposed to the casing 25, the valve member 48 has a plurality of suitably two, diametrically opposed sets of axially spaced, preferably circumferentially elongated slots 49, each containing the same number or plurality of slots as the casing and with the axial spacing of the slots of one the same as and the other different from the axial spacing of the casing slot-s. With this arrangement, by presenting the slots of the same spacing set to those in the casing, as shown in FIGURE 8, all of the ports 47 will be open to inlet air. Conversely, by turning the valve member 48 to present its opposite side with the set of differently spaced slots 49 to the slots 41 in the casing, either all of the outlet ports can be closed, as shown in FIGURE 7, or one or another can be opened, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 10. Also, in any of the positions shown in 'FIGURES 8-10*, partial rotation of the valve member 48 will vary the area of the slot or slots 41 in the casing open to inlet air and thus meter or regulate the flow of air therethrough. As also shown in those figures, the valve member 48 is preferably of such length as to be contained in the casing 25 not only when the ports 31 are closed but also throughout its range of selection. A diametric handle '50 fixed to the inside of the valve member 48 adjacent each end, enables the valve member readily to be operated or manipulated from either side of the car simply by removing the cap 32 on the port 3 1 at that side.

In the operation of the improved discharge assembly 1, a gravity discharge is performed in the usual way by opening and closing the slide gate 5- by its drive 1-1. In a pneumatic discharge, the usual procedure will be to uncap one of the outlet ports of the outlet casing 24 and apply a vacuum thereto, with the inlet air drawn by that vacuum from the inlet casing 25 across the intervening lading to carry the lading into the chamber through its inlet port During this operation, one or both of the inlet ports 31 of the inlet casing 25 can be uncapped to open it to ambient air and the valve member 48 selectively set to produce the desired flow through one or more of the air outlet ports 47. When this operation has progressed to the point where air begins to how downwardly through the lading under the force of the applied vacuum, it ordinarily will be desirable to close the roof hatches (not shown) through which the hopper is loaded so as not to short-circuit the flow from the air inlet 20. Thereafter, the discharge will continue with the air fed from the air inlet 20* and, toward the end of the operation when little lading remains, the sweep of the air across the upper surface 22 of the gate 5 and the agitation it produces within the frame 4, will effectively remove all of the lading, even though, as in the illustrated embodiment, the slope of some of the surfaces presented within the frame 4 to the lading may be less than the ladings angle of repose.

For lading through which it is diflicult to produce a flow of air between the inlet and outlet casings 24 and 25 by vacuum alone, one of the inlet ports 31 of the inlet casing can be connected to a pressure source and the other closed and the combination of pressure at the inlet and vacuum at the outlet, metered as required by the valve member 48, ordinarily will suffice to discharge the lading both expeditiously and completely. But even lading too dense to enable a cross flow of air between the inlet and outlet casings 24 and 25 to be etsablished, can be pneumatically discharged by the improved assembly. In this case, vacuum can be applied to one of the outlet ports 30 of the outlet casing 24 with the other uncapped and open to atmosphere or pressure can be applied to one of the ports with the other connected to the discharge pipe, in either case producing by the flow of air through the casing a vacuum at the inlet port 40, which, with the gravity assist from the lading, will suck or draw the lading into the chamber 35 and there mix it with the air passing through the chamber for transport through the discharge pipe. This action will continue so long as there is lading covering the inlet port 40, but will end when that port is exposed, with a pile of lading at the opposite side of the hopper sloping downwardly at its angle of repose toward the port. At this juncture, the drastically reduced height of the lading above the floor 21 will have correspondingly reduced its resistance to cross flow of air between the outlet ports 47 of the air inlet 20- and inlet port 40 of the lading outlet 19, so that application of a vacuum to the outlet casing 24 with the hatches closed, supplemented, if necessary, by pressure applied to the inlet casing 25, will remove the rest of the lading.

During a gravity discharge of the hopper, the downward direction of the outlet ports 47 of the air inlet 20 and the shielding of the slot 39* in the chamber 35' by the overlying rear wall 9 of the frame 4, will effectively protect them from being damaged or clogged by the lading. Also, the preferred sliding engagement of the upper surface 21 of the slide gate '5 with the baffie plate 46 at the front of the frame, will enable the baffle plate to clean the plate as the latter is open. While the preferred straightthrough bores 28 and 29 of the casings 24 and 25 are readily cleanable from the ends on removal of the end caps 32, the need for cleaning ordinarily will arise only with respect to the outlet casing and after a vacuum discharge. Should any comminuted lading remain in the chamber 35 at that time, the forward and downward slope of the bottom of the chamber will cause practically all to drop out when the slide gate 5 is next opened and opening of the gate also permits ready access from the side to the chamber through the access slot 39.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly which not only enables lading to be discharged alternately by gravity and pneumatically, but in a pneumatic discharge ensures that the lading will be completely discharged. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly for a hopper of a covered railway hopper car, comprising closure means slidable between positions to open and close a bottom discharge opening of the hopper and effective alone for producing gravity discharge thereof, and a pneumatic discharge device attached to said hopper, said device including spaced lading outlet and air inlet means operative when said opening is closed by and opening inwardly above said closure means for producing a flow of air therebetween above and across said closure member through intervening comminuted lading and thereby discharging said lading through said outlet means.

2. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim '1, wherein the lading outlet and air inlet means are adapted respectively to apply a vacuum and supply air internally to the hopper at opposite sides of the bottom opening.

3. A gravity-penumatic discharge assembly according to claim 2, wherein the air inlet means includes valve means for metering the flow of air therefrom to the lading outlet me ans.

4. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 3, wherein the air inlet means includes a plurality of laterally spaced air outlets, and the valve means is adjustable for selectively opening and closing and regulating flow of air through said outlets.

'5. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 3, wherein each of the lading outlet and air inlet mean-s includes an open-ended tubular casing having normally capped ports at opposite ends thereof, said casings are mounted externally of the hopper at and extend substantially horizontally along opposite sides thereof, and said casings open laterally into the hopper through ports therein at corresponding sides of the bottom opening.

6. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 5, including a gate frame fixed to and depending from a bottom portion ofthe hopper and slidably mounting the gate and containing the bottom opening, and wherein the inlet and outlet casing are mounted respectively adjacent a front wall of the hopper above the level of and on a rear portion of said frame.

7. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 6, wherein there is a chamber in said outlet casing intermediate ends thereof and having as an inside wall a forwardly and downwardly sloping rear wall of the frame extending forwardly to and having a front end bounding a rear end of the bottom opening, said chamber has an outside wall extending forwardly over a bottom thereof and joined rearwardly to said rear wall, said outside wall has a front end disposed parallel to and spaced below and rearward of said rear wall front end and with said rear wall bounding a slot extending substantially the width of said rear wall and opening from a bottom portion of said chamber forwardly into said frame, and the gate in the closed position thereof abuts said outside wall rear end and is spaced below and defines with said rear wall rear end vertical boundaries of an inlet port of said chamber.

8. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 7, wherein the outside wall over the bottom of the chamber slopes downwardly toward the front for selfcleaning of the chamber on opening of the slide gate.

9. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 6, wherein each of the casings has a bore extending straight therethrough.

10. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 9, wherein the inlet casing is a cylindrical tube having a plurality of axially spaced slots in a side thereof facing the hopper front wall, and including a plurality of laterally spaced ducts, each of said ducts having an outer end attached to the inlet casing and enclosing one of said slots and leading rearwardly and downwardly therefrom through the hopper front wall to one of a plurality of air inlet ports spaced laterally of and opening downwardly toward a front end of the bottom opening.

11. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 10, wherein the valve means is an open-ended cylindrical sleeve concentric with and axially slidable and rotatable in the inlet casing, and the sleeve has a plurality of circumferentially spaced sets of axially spaced slots, each set has the same number of slots as the inlet casing, and the sets have their slots respectively at the same axial spacing as and a different axial spacing than the casing slots for selective opening and closing of the casing slots on axial and rotative movement of said sleeve.

12. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 11, wherein the several slots are circumferentially elongated for circumferentially varying by rotation of the sleeve the area of any casing slot open to passage of air.

13. A gravity-pneumatic discharge assembly according to claim 11, including a diametric handle inside the sleeve adjacent each end thereof, and wherein the sleeve normally is contained axially within the inlet casing.

14. In a device for pneumatically discharging comminuted lading from a hopper of a covered railway hopper car, an air inlet comprising an open-ended cylindrical tube having normally capped selectively openable inlet ports at opposite ends thereof, a plurality of axially spaced slots in a side of said tube and opening onto an interior of the hopper, an open-ended cylindrical sleeve rotatable and axially slidable in said tube and normally contained axially therewithin, said sleeve having a plurality of circumferentially spaced sets of axially spaced slots, each of said sets having the same number of slots as said tube, and said sets having their slots respectively at the same axial spacing as and a different axial spacing than said tube slots, and handle means inside said sleeve adjacent each end thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,950,143 8/1960 Koranda et al 302-52 2,950,144 8/1960 Dorey 302-52 3,325,223 6/1967 Price 302-52 3,343,887 9/1967 McNamara 302-52 3,373,884 3/1968 Dorey 302-52 FOREIGN PATENTS 463,953 8/1928 Germany.

r ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner. 

